Raw Data File and Processed Data File

Parsing is thought to aid sentence comprehension and thus precede sentence comprehension. However, in understanding English sentences for Chinese English learners, sentence comprehension is often the prerequisite for parsing and consequently precedes syntactic processing. These processes represent an intriguing circular logic: parsing utilized to aid sentence comprehension operates after sentence comprehension. This shifts our interest from the conventional topic of the relative time course of syntactic and semantic processing in sentence comprehension to a related but rarely directly discussed topic of the relative time course of syntactic processing and sentence comprehension. By elucidating this circular logic, we reveal and subsequently confirm through empirical experimental and statistical analysis from three perspectives that syntactic processing often ensues after sentence comprehension in Chinese English learners when understanding English sentences. This suggests that parsing often provides limited assistance in sentence understanding. This pattern arises due to the heavy reliance of the parsing method on trial and error, leading to trial-caused lag. This study not only fills the theoretical gaps regarding the time course between syntactic processing and sentence comprehension among Chinese English learners but also lays a practical foundation for creating a novel parsing method that operates without prior sentence comprehension, with the potential of rendering syntactic processing meaningful in sentence comprehension for Chinese English learners.

句法分析（Parsing）被认为有助于句子理解，因此先于句子理解发生。然而，对于中国英语学习者（Chinese English learners）理解英语句子而言，句子理解往往是句法分析的先决条件，因而先于句法加工（syntactic processing）进行。这形成了一种耐人寻味的循环逻辑：本应用于辅助句子理解的句法分析，竟在句子理解之后才展开。这将我们的研究兴趣从传统的“句子理解中句法加工与语义加工（semantic processing）的相对时间进程”这一议题，转向了一个相关但极少被直接探讨的新议题——句法加工与句子理解的相对时间进程。通过阐明这一循环逻辑，我们从三个视角开展实证实验与统计分析，揭示并最终证实：中国英语学习者在理解英语句子时，句法加工往往发生在句子理解之后。这表明句法分析对句子理解的辅助作用往往十分有限。该模式的产生源于句法分析方法高度依赖试错机制，进而导致了试错带来的滞后效应。本研究不仅填补了中国英语学习者在句法加工与句子理解的时间进程方面的理论空白，还为开发一种无需预先进行句子理解的新型句法分析方法奠定了实践基础，该方法有望让句法加工对中国英语学习者的句子理解产生实际价值。